The State Legislature of Hawaii adopted a CEASEFIRE resolution on April 26, 2024.

*This means it passed both the State House and the State Senate and is now the official position of the entire State of Hawaii.

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

URGING THE MEMBERS OF HAWAII’S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION AND THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO CALL FOR AN IMMEDIATE, PERMANENT BILATERAL CEASEFIRE IN GAZA AND THE RETURN OF ALL HOSTAGES,AND TO CONTINUE NEGOTIATIONS FOR LASTING PEACE IN THE REGION.

WHEREAS, all human life is precious, and the targeting of non-combatants in a conflict zone is in violation of rule 1 of customary international humanitarian law; and

WHEREAS, on October 7, 2023, Hamas, which is recognized by the United States as a terrorist organization, entered Israel, killed 1,162 innocent people, and took 240 innocent people hostage, of which 134 remain in Hamas’ custody; and

WHEREAS, between October 7 and April 4, 2024, armed violence has claimed the lives of more than thirteen thousand Palestinians and wounded tens of thousands more, the majority of which are civilians; and

WHEREAS, on January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justices, the world’s highest court, declared that Palestinians in Gaza were facing a plausible genocide; and

WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of lives are at imminent risk if a permanent ceasefire is not reached and humanitarian aid is not delivered without delay; and

WHEREAS, roughly half of the Palestinians killed or wounded during the violence in Gaza are children, despite international humanitarian law requiring that all parties to an armed conflict protect children and prevent the commission of grave violations against them, including killing and maiming, attacks on schools and hospitals, recruitment and use of children, abduction of children, and denial of humanitarian access; and

WHEREAS, these children and their families face further imminent threats, including famine, due to a lack of food, water, fuel, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance that reach them; and

WHEREAS, the dismantling of Hamas should not be achieved at the expense of innocent lives; and

WHEREAS, the United States federal government holds immense diplomatic and economic power to save both Palestinian and Israeli lives; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, “Aloha” is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation; it is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the House of Representatives concurring, that members of Hawaii’s Congressional delegation and the Biden Administration are urged to publicly call for an immediate, permanent bilateral ceasefire in Gaza and the return of all hostages; facilitate the de escalation of hostilities to end the current violence; promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, including fuel, food, water, and medical supplies; and continue negotiations for lasting peace in the region; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of Hawaii’s Congressional delegation are urged to insist that the Biden Administration call for an immediate, permanent bilateral ceasefire in Gaza, facilitate the de-escalation of hostilities to end the current violence, return all hostages, promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, including fuel, food, water, and medical supplies, and beginnegotiations for lasting peace in the region; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Majority and Minority Leader of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, members of Hawaii’s Congressional delegation, and Governor.